# Formation and Structure of a Current Sheet in Pulsed-Power Driven Magnetic Reconnection Experiments

## TL;DR

This paper presents pulsed-power driven magnetic reconnection experiments revealing long-lasting, well-defined reconnection layers with detailed diagnostics, plasmoid formation, and unexpected heating rates exceeding classical predictions.

## Contribution

It introduces a new experimental platform for magnetic reconnection with comprehensive diagnostics and observations of plasmoid formation and anomalous heating.

## Key findings

- Long-lasting reconnection layers observed
- Plasmoid formation confirmed via multiple diagnostics
- Electron and ion heating rates exceed classical models

## Abstract

We describe magnetic reconnection experiments using a new, pulsed-power driven experimental platform in which the inflows are super-sonic but sub-Alfv\'enic.The intrinsically magnetised plasma flows are long lasting, producing a well-defined reconnection layer that persists over many hydrodynamic time scales.The layer is diagnosed using a suite of high resolution laser based diagnostics which provide measurements of the electron density, reconnecting magnetic field, inflow and outflow velocities and the electron and ion temperatures.Using these measurements we observe a balance between the power flow into and out of the layer, and we find that the heating rates for the electrons and ions are significantly in excess of the classical predictions. The formation of plasmoids is observed in laser interferometry and optical self-emission, and the magnetic O-point structure of these plasmoids is confirmed using magnetic probes.